Boys basketball roundup: Hillcrest tests WACO

In local small school boys basketball, Hillcrest Academy put a scare into undefeated WACO on Friday night.

No. 3 (1A) WACO 51, Hillcrest Academy 40

The Ravens didn’t make it easy on No. 3 (1A) WACO, sticking right in the Warriors’ side for three quarters. WACO led just 35-33 on its home floor before pulling away in the fourth.

WACO used a balanced attack to get past the Ravens. Colton Leichty finished the night with 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots. Cody Graber and Hunter Hughes each scored 10 points, with Graber pulling down seven rebounds, and Odee Shtefanchuk filled the stat sheet with 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Hillcrest Academy’s Grant Bender scored 16 points in the loss. Luke Schrock finished with 12 points and three steals, and Seth Ours scored nine points on three 3-pointers.

Winfield-Mount Union 68, Columbus 30

The Wolves rolled to a Southeast Iowa Super Conference North Division victory, beating the Wildcats by 38 on the road.

Ebram Edwards led the charge with 18 points, nine rebounds and four steals on the night. Cam Buffington nearly had a triple double, finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Jake Edwards added 13 points, and Carter Loyd scored 10.

Columbus’ Oscar Alcala scored nine points in the loss. Timothy Hills finished with seven points and seven rebounds off the bench.

Pekin 65, Lone Tree 24

Pekin continued to heat up, winning its third game in a row with a road drubbing of Lone Tree.

Jaedon Wolver scored 16 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead the Panthers. Luke Long had 10 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots, and Sven Dahlstrom scored nine points.

Wapello 59, Highland 34

The Huskies stuck in it through half, as Highland trailed just 24-16 at the break, but Wapello scored 35 points in the second half to run past Highland in SEISC North action.

No. 6 West Burlington 62, New London 55

Even without big man Kade Benjamin, who was out with an injury, the Tigers almost handed West Burlington its first loss of the season.

The Tigers led the game 14-11 after one quarter and 30-28 at halftime, but West Burlington was able to pull forward in the second half.

Blaise Porter had a marvelous game, scoring 33 points and grabbing nine rebounds. He also led the team with three steals.

Rylan Martin put up 12 points for the Tigers. Brendan Richey had eight.

Holy Trinity Catholic 63, Van Buren County 40

The Warriors had trouble in a SEISC South road game at HTC.

The Crusaders led the whole way, taking an 11-7 edge into the second quarter before leading 27-17 at halftime and 44-30 after three periods.

Chariton 70, Cardinal 66

Cardinal nearly grabbed a South Central Conference victory at Chariton, but the Chargers scored a comeback victory with a 20-point fourth quarter.

Cardinal led 17-7 after one quarter and 36-26 at halftime, but Chariton pulled out the regular-season sweep of the Comets.

Wilton 77, Mid-Prairie 65

Mid-Prairie saw a 32-25 lead turn into a 12-point loss in a River Valley road game against Wilton.

Camron Pickard had a big game, going for 21 points in the loss. Dylan Henry and Alex Bean each scored 11. Wilton standout Caden Kirkman put up 32.

Keota 66, Tri-County 31

Keota rolled Tri-County in a South Iowa Cedar League showdown. The Eagles led 24-6 after one quarter, 41-14 at halftime and 52-27 after three quarters.

Sawyer Sout scored 16 points in the win. Aiden McQuire put up 14 points. Evan Vittetoe scored 10, and Dalton Dodd had a team-high 11 rebounds.